To Nobody, Through Nobody

On the day after Veterans Day this year, there was a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House. The following information appeared on armytimes.com:

Retired Capt. Florent A. Groberg on Thursday became the nation’s newest Medal of Honor recipient — and the 10th living service member to be recognized with America’s highest valor award for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.

I’m certain that you would join me in being grateful to men like Capt. Groberg. Nothing I would say here–or anywhere–would be intended to minimize the service and dedication of those who serve in our armed forces. They deserve every honor they receive.

However, there was one thing about the ceremony that troubled me. I was doing some channel surfing and happened to see the portion of the ceremony that took place immediately after the Medal of Honor was awarded. 

There was a great deal of much-deserved applause. The president then nodded to a man whom I took to be a chaplain of some kind. The chaplain, along with all the others I could see in the camera shot, reverently bowed his head. He then said:

Let us pray. 

May the example of all the soldiers we remember today serve to inspire us to defeat all the enemies we face. May the acts of virtue we remember give us the courage to hold on to what is good, strengthen the fainthearted, support the weak and help those who suffer. May we, the living, bring honor to those who have perished so that others may live in peace.

Grant your blessing to remain upon us and be with us always.

Amen

It was obvious that the man intended for this to be a prayer. After all, he began with, “Let us pray.” The whole experience left me with a couple of questions.

• To whom was this “prayer” addressed?
• Through whom was the prayer offered?

Sadly, we must have reached the point in our society where, even in the highest levels of the government of our nation, it is no longer “politically correct” to pray to the Father through His Son as we are directed to do in the Bible. “Freedom of religion” has become “freedom from religion.”

How sad it is that this took place at a ceremony honoring a man who bravely fought for a country that still puts “In God We Trust” on some of our currency and still claims to be “one nation under God.”

Throwing some words into the air is not prayer. This action may add some sort of dignity to a ceremony. It may make people “feel religious.” It is not prayer.   

It is my opinion that prayer is best defined in the description given by Hannah of her prayer for a son. In 1 Samuel 1:10 we read, “She…prayed to the Lord…”  Her “definition” of that prayer is classic: “…I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord” (1 Samuel 1:15).

It seems to me that it is way past time for those who love our nation to follow her example. It appears fairly obvious to me that, as a nation, we are drifting farther and farther away from what some would call our Christian heritage.

May I appeal to those who can truly address God as “Father” to pour out their souls to Him through His Son for a nation that Abraham Lincoln regarded as “the last best hope of earth”?

Will you do that, please?

Will you do that before we become another in a long list of once great nations?

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